


Team Healing

by Excavalion



Category: Tales of Arcadia (Cartoons), Trollhunters (Cartoon), Trollhunters - Daniel Kraus & Guillermo del Toro
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Jim and Toby are good bros, Major Character Injury, Parent Blinky (Trollhunters)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-27
Updated: 2019-12-27
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:06:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,310
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21979294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Excavalion/pseuds/Excavalion
Summary: Jim knew Blinky and Jack were right, of course. He'd had plenty of time to move out of the way and could've avoided this whole situation entirely. But's he's just a kid. He's not a warrior- it's not like he's been training his whole life for something like that.Though, that's what he has them for.**BOOK VERSION**
Comments: 3
Kudos: 20





	Team Healing

**Author's Note:**

> The book version of Trollhunters is absolutely amazing, and I'm a little sad there isn't much stuff for it. So, I decided to write some! Have this little thing for the book universe I wrote a while back. It's based off a scene in the book where, while in a junkyard, a bunch of cars fall on top of Jim. Enjoy!

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“A Trollhunter needs to be careful and aware of their surroundings- they need to know exactly what’s happening and react accordingly. They should _not_ , however, give a late reaction or waste precious seconds being unsure on what step to take next- which is _precisely_ what you _just-_ “

Jim sighs and does his best to ignore Blinky’s voice. Pain spikes through his skull at every word, the ground in front of him beginning to sway as his vision swims back and forth. They’re walking down a back road, trying to get back to Trollmarket, and despite Jim’s rising predicament, Blinky continues to drone on about his possibly fatal mistake. Jim loves Blinky- he does, but not for the first time he has to resist the urge to rip the amulet from around his neck and throw it as far as he can, even though he knows it would inevitably find it’s way back into his hands. Jim rarely pays attention to what Blinky says anyway, which is why it takes Jim a moment to realize his friend had abruptly cut his rant short. He blinks rapidly to try and still the rocking motion of the cement below him before glancing over at the literate troll. All of Blinky’s eleven eyes are trained on him, along with ARRRGH!!!’s additional two. 

“Human okay?” ARRRGH!!! rumbles, her dark eyes filled with concern. Jim coughs nervously, not used to the attention. “Uh- is that a trick question?” He asks, his arm tightening around his stomach when it twists painfully. He shakes his head, “It’s okay, ARRRGH!!!. I’ll be fine, thanks.” She nods, but Jim can tell she doesn’t believe him- Blinky too, though it’s hard to tell since the troll’s eyes aren’t directly attached to his face. Jack huffs in annoyance from beside him and positions Jim’s arm around his shoulder better. “Hardly,” Jack begins, continuing to walk forward and help Jim limp with him. “What you did was incredibly stupid. Blinky is right- you knew those cars were going to fall; you had enough time to react and jump out of the way, completely avoiding this whole situation.”

Jim scoffs. “Well, e-excuse me Mister _I’ve-been-training-my-whole-life_ if I don’t exactly have the r-reaction skills of a perfect warrior.” He snaps in anger, before giving a strangled gasp as the tightening of his muscles sends a ripple of pain down his spine. For a few seconds after, his breathing comes out as harsh pants and he relaxes against his uncle. “That’s _your_ fault,” He whispers and Jack just rolls his eyes. A tentacle suddenly swipes across his forehead and brushes his dark hair out of his eyes, leaving a trail of slime behind. Jim cringes, but allows it- Blinky has no perception of how _gross_ that is to humans. “I apologize,” Blinky starts softly. “Maybe I should have waited until you were feeling better before giving you a reprimanding lecture, my friend.” The troll truly looks guilty, and it’s a little saddening. Jim gives him a weak reassuring smile. “It’s alright, Blinky.”

Jack nudges Jim slightly and he hisses in pain as they stop walking. “Sorry,” His uncle responds, not sounding sorry at all. “But the sun is coming up.” The four of them look up at the sky- bright orange spilling over houses and reflecting off of windows as the sun rises. As beautiful as it is, the light is slowly spreading out across the pavement towards them and the two trolls step back nervously. ARRRGH!!! whimpers and Blinky pats his friend’s arm comfortingly. “I’m afraid it’s rising too quickly, we cannot make it back to Trollmarket or to Jim’s house in time. We will have to find shelter elsewhere.” Blinky admits and Jack grunts thoughtfully. “W-Well we better f-find one quick, because I don’t think I can s-stand up for much longer,” Jim mumbles, leaning heavily on Jack. The other human shoots him a look of concern and it only makes Jim worry because Jack is _never_ concerned.

“We do not know the human world as well as you, Jim. If anyone would know a place, you would.” Blinky says and Jim frowns, before an idea pops in his head. Maybe not the _best_ idea, but an idea nonetheless. “Tubs’ house-“ Jim suggests. “It’s n-not far from h-here. He l-lives with his g-grandma.” Blinky looks to Jack for confirmation and the human nods. “Then, to your friend’s house!” Blinky announces. “Lead the way, Jim. Er, uh- point the way.”

The four _carefully_ make their way to Tubs’ house based on Jim’s stuttered directions, and after surprisingly minimal confusion they finally stop on the grass of his friend’s backyard. Jack passes Jim over to Blinky and Jim slips on the grass, pitching dangerously forward until Blinky winds his tentacles around his waist and steadies him. Jim nearly pukes, whether from the near face-plant, the bruising pain in his chest, or Blinky’s slime, he's not sure. The sun is still rapidly rising, the shadows receding and providing less and less room for the trolls to stand. Jack wastes no time rushing to the Derschwitz’s backdoor and knocking loudly, despite the hour. Jim’s nauseous mind worries Tubs won’t even open the door- after all its extremely early _and_ a Saturday. 

The door swings open and they give a collective sigh of relief. Tubs’ green eyes are scrunched in annoyance and confusion as he stares at Jack on his back porch, before they widen in realization. He glances at all of them in the yard but his gaze lingers on Jim and the Trollhunter can’t blame him. Jim must look horrible, shaking in pain and covered in blood as Blinky holds him up. Tubs doesn’t say anything, and Jim tries his best to smile. “G-got r-room for more?” He chokes and Tubs snorts at the joke. They had yet to make up from their fight on the steps of Jim’s house, but they’re still friends. They’d been together through thick and thin, and though Jim knows he’d been harsh on his friend, that couldn’t have _ruined_ their friendship- right? 

Suddenly he's not so sure.

Tubs nods slowly and pushes the door open all the way. He steps off his porch and walks past Jack to stand in front of Jim and Blinky. “Pass Jim to me,” Tubs says and Jim is promptly dumped into Tubs’ arms, his friend catching him carefully. The red-head scrunches his nose in disgust when he feels Jim’s blood slowly seep into his own clothes, but ignores it. They turn around and Tubs helps Jim into the house, Blinky hovering worriedly the entire time. When they step through the doorway Jack is already inside, a couple towels laid out on the couch- which were very much _not_ there before. Tubs blinks in surprise. “How did you-“ He starts, then cuts himself off. “You know what, I don’t want to know.” He mumbles. Jim snickers weakly and Tubs helps him lay down on the towels. Tubs looks down at his hands and groans. Blood is soaked into his clothes and smeared across his hands. “This is not going to come out.” He complains and Jim rolls his eyes. “H-hey, stop c-complaining. At l-least you’re n-not the one the b-blood is _coming from_.” The Trollhunter admits- and he’s right.

A loud thump comes from the doorway and Tubs whirls around with a finger to his lips. “Shh! You’ll wake my grandma!” He whispers harshly. ARRRGH!!! looks down guiltily from her position half way through the threshold. “Sorry… stuck.” She grumbles. Blinky walks over and pulls on her arm, the two of them pushing to get her through the doorway. She does eventually, bumping into a large bookshelf along the way. The statues on it shake precariously before a few tip, falling from the shelf and smashing to pieces on the floor. The trolls freeze and look to Tubs in embarrassment. Tubs growls and smacks a hand to his face in frustration. “It’s fine…” He grits out. “I’ll clean it up later. She won’t notice.” 

The two trolls walk sheepishly over to Jack, the three of them standing awkwardly in the living room. “I’m going to go get some things,” Tubs starts, glancing nervously at his unusual guests. “Don’t- don’t touch _anything_ . I’ll be right back.” He gives Jim a long look before walking out of the room and disappearing down the hallway. Jim sighs and lifts a shaky hand to run it down his face. Tubs is helping him, so that has to mean something, right? “Human… say sorry to friend?” ARRRGH!!! asks him curiously. Jim had almost forgotten he told them about his and Tubs’ fight. He shakes his head, regretting it immediately as it only makes his headache worse. “Perhaps now is your opportunity to do so,” Blinky suggests and Jim scrunches his nose. _Is_ now a good time? Who knows when they’ll talk again- but he’s not sure apologizing while he’s covered in blood and two seconds away from passing out is a good idea. Footsteps echo in the quiet room as Tubs returns, a collection of supplies in his arms. 

He sits down on the coffee table in front of the couch and sets the supplies beside him, picking out a few things. “What the hell happened, anyway?” He asks and Jim cringes. Tubs places a wet rag to one of the cuts on his face and Jim hisses. “Sorry,” Tubs whispers. Jim sighs as his friend continues to clean off the blood. “Um… a stack of cars fell on me in the junkyard…” He explains quietly. He thinks back to the conversation he’d had with Blinky and Jack earlier. They were right, of course. He’d had plenty of time to move out of the way. But he’s no warrior- he’s just a _kid_. He has no idea what he’s doing. Tubs freezes at Jim’s words before pressing down on the cut harder with a concerned frown. He shakes his head, but doesn’t say anything in response. They continue to sit in silence as Tubs cleans Jim’s wounds, the latter drifting between consciousness and sleep before finally just falling asleep as his physical and emotional exhaustion catches up with him. 

With the last cut cleaned and wrapped, Tubs leans back and observes his handiwork. Not the best, but it’ll do. He looks at the blood covering his own clothes and a sick feeling worms it’s way into his chest. He’s still mad at Jim for what he said, but this… Tubs exhales shakily and stands up to throw the various bloody paper towels away. ARRRGH!!! warbles at him as he walks towards the kitchen and Tubs gives her a startled look. “I… I’m sorry I can’t speak troll…” He trails off. Jack snorts. “She wants to know if you’re okay.” He translates. Tubs blinks in surprise. “If- If _I’m_ okay? I’m… fine, I guess.” He admits. _‘Though with all the blood currently in my living room I’ll probably have nightmares,’_ he thinks sarcastically. ARRRGH!!! nods, seemingly satisfied, and Tubs leaves the room to clean up the mess. However, Blinky frowns in disapproval- he’ll get those boys to apologize if it’s the last thing he does. When Tubs comes back, he sits down on the floor and leans back against the couch, his green eyes blinking in exhaustion. ARRRGH!!! comes over to sit beside him and Tubs pats her arm tiredly and leans against her soft fur.

He’s nearly asleep until a phone rings, the shrill cry waking him up. ARRRGH!!! paws at her ears in annoyance and Tubs looks around for the source of the noise. He finally pinpoints the noise as Jim’s phone, and pulls it out of his sleeping friend’s pocket. The ringing stops as the call is missed and Tubs cringes at the name. “It’s his dad.” He says, looking up at the trolls and Jack. Jack looks nervous, eyeing the phone with guilt and apprehension. “Answer it for Jim, his dad’s probably worried.” He suggests. Tubs nods and types Jim’s passcode in to call his dad back. He rubs at his eyes to try and get rid of the last bit of sleep as the phone dials. Jim’s dad picks up with a click and a concerned, “Jim?”. Tubs sighs. “Uh- no, Mr. Sturges, it’s Tubs.” He explains. He crafts an excuse about why Jim was at his house when he was supposed to be home, and thankfully Mr. Sturges buys it. He talks for a second longer before hanging up. Tubs glances over at Jim and starts when blue eyes meet his own. “Was t-that my dad?” Jim asks and Tubs nods. “Yeah, he wants you home later.” They sit in awkward silence as Jim continues to wake up. Jim looks over at Blinky and the troll makes a, “go on” gesture, and the Trollhunter finally sighs. 

“Tubs…” Jim begins, and Tubs blinks. Jim hesitates for a moment before sighing again. “I’m sorry. I-I shouldn’t have said what I did. I was confused and stressed, and I l-let that out on you. It wasn’t f-fair. I’m sorry, Tubs. I really am.” He apologizes, trying his hardest to keep his voice even. Tubs’ expression remains blank for a few seconds before he smiles widely, his braces catching the light and reflecting it back. “Apology accepted, Jim Sturges Jr,” He teases. “Now let’s check those cuts and return you home, Mr. Trollhunter.” Jim laughs at that but cuts himself off with an amused wheeze when it begins to hurt. His eyes catch Blinky’s and the troll nods in satisfaction with a proud smile.

It took Jim awhile, but he finally apologized. He should have never said what he did to Tubs, but he’ll make it up to him. For now though, they’ll just forget it happened.

“ _Meow?_ ”

“ARRRGH!!!, for heaven’s sake please don’t-“

“Cat #45, no!”

“Sorry…”


End file.
